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Giving to the Homeless

Lately, there is something going on in the Universe, because many people are suffering for different reasons. In the past two weeks I had a girlfriend tell me she has cancer, another friend had such bad leg pain that she said she didn’t want to live anymore, a guy I work with is angry, because we are not getting normal hours at work to support ourselves… the list goes on.

I’ve been challenged with this job hunt myself. When I feel a low, I remind myself that we don’t stay down forever. At some point, as we continue to be persistent and think positively something changes and we are catapulted into a whole new direction.

Today I was at Starbucks doing my job search. There was a homeless man sitting by the entrance. I see him there a lot. As I was looking his way, I though I should do something nice for him, because I know how I have appreciated acts of kindness. So, I pulled out a $5 and I went to him and asked if he would like a coffee or something. He was surprised and thanked me. He took the money and went to buy something to eat, but apparently the packaged food at Starbucks is more than $5, so he started to give me the money back, because it wasn’t enough. If I had been working, I would have bought what he wanted, but times are tough for me too.

I told him to keep the money and buy himself “something” to eat or drink. He went back to the counter and bought two bags of chips. Then he came back to me with the change and offered me a bag of chips. I smiled at that, but again I told him to keep the chips for himself. Not long after he ate his chips, he came over to thank me, but then started to tell me how he didn’t want to get married, that it causes a lot of problems, etc. It was the strangest conversation. I listened, but then told him I had to get back to work. He was a very polite and well spoken man, I was happy I had helped him.

For my friend, who said she didn’t want to live, I sent her a pocket silver angel in the mail with a very nice note. She called saying she loved the angel and that she was feeling better and starting to go to physical therapy.

Finally, for my co-worker, I searched and sent him some job postings. I know how the job search is, not fun, it sure helps to have someone else help us out.

Oh… at the grocery store, someone had a gift card they were using. The cashier told them they still had $4 left on it. As they were about to leave, they turned around and handed the gift card to the man behind them and said, “Enjoy $4 on us.” The man was surprised and thrilled to have this lucky gift card.

Sometimes, we ALL need to know someone cares.

So, let’s all go out and do an act of kindness. It makes us feel good and we can change the recipients life around.

Yes, we all have times when things look pretty bleak. It is always the little things that start to turn us around, a smile from a stranger, someone who holds the door for you, or any gesture that lets us know we are not alone. Great reminder to pay it forward. 😊

I love your viewpoint on paying it forward and recognising it within other people. This was a refreshing set of actions on your behalf, especially​ being so generous to the homeless man although times are tough for you too – it warmed my heart to hear about the interaction afterwar​ds too. Best of luck on your future job search!